Tag: 250227

Highlights of nightlife

Manchester Restaurant Week returns

By John Fladd

[email protected]

The Second Annual Manchester Restaurant week will run Friday, Feb. 28, through Sunday, March 9, with participating restaurants offering drink and food specials themed to tie in with Escape to Margaritaville, which is opening Friday at Palace Theatre.

Katie Lovell from the Palace is one of this year’s organizers. She said the idea behind Restaurant Week is to call attention to downtown Manchester’s nightlife.

“Manchester Restaurant Week was started as a community event,” Lovell said, “a way to tie the community together and have us all work together in bringing people downtown — showing that downtown Manchester is still an amazing place to be and visit and that there’s so many wonderful restaurants and places downtown to visit.”

This year the Palace planned a production that would lend itself to tie-ins from downtown restaurants.

“This year, the show at the Palace Theatre is Escape to Margaritaville,” Lovell said, “which is really fun. It’s a Jimmy Buffett musical, so it features all of his music. It’s a really fun, feel-good show, and we felt like it was the perfect tie-in for restaurant week. It’s an easy theme for the restaurants — different margaritas and Caribbean dishes that feel like a party.”

Given that Jimmy Buffett’s signature song was titled “Margaritaville,” it’s not surprising that many of this year’s participating restaurants have developed variations on margaritas for Restaurant Week. Stashbox (866 Elm St., Manchester, 606-8109, stashboxnh.com), for instance, will offer a “Floral Margarita.” Co-owner Jeremy Hart said the sweet element of the cocktail — usually triple sec or cointreau — will be replaced with creme de violette, which will also give the margarita a gentle purple color.

Nick Carnes, the owner of Shopper’s Pub and Eatery (18 Lake Ave., Manchester, 232-5252, shoppersmht.com) is one of the downtown business owners who is especially enthusiastic about promoting restaurants along and adjacent to Elm Street. He said Restaurant Week is a good way for Manchester to build its reputation as a cultural magnet.

“… the Palace has been trying to help incentivize their guests to really adapt the model of eat, play, stay in Manchester,” he said. Carnes said he and other downtown restaurant owners have made a conscious effort over the past few years to come together as a community.

“Almost 95 percent of small businesses on Elm Street are either under new management or just new in general since Covid,” he said. There are only a few restaurants downtown that were able to weather the changes of the pandemic. “Everything else has flipped ownership,” he said, ‘flipped their management, or just pushed new concepts. So, we just lost the connection … We didn’t know who we were as a community.”

Carnes’ own contribution to this year’s Margaritaville-themed Restaurant Week, a Cheeseburger in Paradise, is inspired by the lyrics to Jimmy Buffett’s 1978 song of the same name. “It’s just as Jimmy Buffett would like it,” he said. “Lettuce and tomato, Heinz 57, and french fried potatoes, a big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer.”

Other offerings according to the website are a Fruity Pebbles Margarita at 815 Cocktails & Provisions; a Golden Sands Margarita and Tropical Pulled Pork Quesadilla at Diz’ Cafe; a specialty margarita and chicken Parmesan at Piccola Italia; an Asian Pear Martini at Thai Food Connection; a Rover-rita at The Wild Rover Pub & Restaurant, and a Mexican chocolate stout and nachos at To Share Brewing.

Manchester Restaurant Week

Friday, Feb. 28, through Sunday, March 9
palacetheatre.org/restaurant-week-2025
See the website for participating restaurants
and their offerings as well as discount
at other businesses in downtown Manchester
with a purchase at a Restaurant Week
establishment

Featured photo: Greater Manchester Restaurant Week Header

Never a dull moment

Chefs can stay sharp with proper knife care

By John Fladd

[email protected]

The first thing Jim Renna wants you to know about kitchen knives is that the sharper a knife is, the less likely it is that you’ll cut yourself.

“There’s more injuries on a dull knife than a sharp knife,” he said, “because you’re using more pressure on a dull knife.” And if the knife slips while you’re cutting, all that pressure you’ve been applying to an onion gets directed to your hand or fingers.

Renna has been a chef and cafe owner for 30 years. He has recently expanded his business to sharpening blades, particularly kitchen knives, at Kitchen on Demand Knife Sharpening (3 Executive Park Drive, Bedford). Last spring, Renna bought a new toy.

“I purchased this unit back in June,” he said, proudly nodding at his sharpening machine. “This is a Tormek T8. It’s water-cooled. It’s got all types of jigs for axes and scissors, pocket knives, just all different kinds of anything that needs to be sharpened. I did a lot of practicing, reading up and watching a lot of videos online, so for five months that’s all I did was practice, because I didn’t want to start advertising until I knew what I was doing and everything was going to be perfect.”

After decades of using knives professionally, Renna knew there is much more to kitchen knives than most home cooks think about.

Different styles of knives, for instance, are not interchangeable with each other. Each is designed for a particular use.

“You’ve got your paring knife,” he said, “which is a smaller one. You’ve got your boning knife with a thinner, more flexible blade. Then you’ve got your regular chef knives, which everybody uses for cutting. And you’ve got your serrated knives for bread and things like that.” He said that when choosing a chef’s knife, for instance, a cook should look for one that fits well in their hand and is heavy. ”So you want a heavy, balanced knife that you don’t have to apply a lot of pressure to,” he said. You’ll get safer, more exact cuts.

Renna said most home cooks don’t get their knives sharpened nearly often enough. “The recommended [frequency] is six to eight months,” he said. “Most people do like five years. Most people don’t even think to have them sharpened.”

Each knife has an ideal angle that it should be sharpened at.

“Most kitchen knives are sharpened at a 15-degree angle,” Renna said. “But a customer just brought a knife in that’s supposed to be sharpened at a 20-degree angle, so that’s a big difference. Shun [brand] knives are at 16-degree angle, so that’s a one-degree difference, but it does make a lot of difference.” Renna’s sharpening unit has several ways to ensure an exact angle when he sharpens a blade, but it gets even more complicated — as he sharpens blades on the grindstone wheel of his sharpener, the wheel wears away slightly. He needs to measure the wheel regularly and work its new size into his calculations.

One other thing Renner wishes more home cooks knew about is the difference between honing and sharpening.

If you have a round “chef’s steel” in a knife set — the type you see television chefs running their knives along — its job is not to sharpen a knife. It hones it. As you put a knife to work, the microscopic edge of the blade gets bent out of shape.

“Honing straightens the edge of the blade,” Renner said. “If you use [your chef’s steel] often, your old knives will stay really sharp for a long time. There’s a skill to it, and [cooks] should find out how to use it.” He gives the example of a barber running a straight razor along a leather strop. The leather isn’t grinding away at the blade; it’s pulling the edge into line.

Kitchen on Demand Knife
Sharpening

3 Executive Park Drive, Bedford
The cost to sharpen a blade is $1.50
per inch of blade, or scissors for $7 each.
Turnaround is about 24 hours, or over the
weekend for a Friday dropoff.
Visit the Kitchen on Demand page on
Facebook.

Featured photo: Photo by John Fladd.

The Weekly Dish 25/02/27

News from the local food scene

By John Fladd

[email protected]

• New coffee shop: Two Moons Coffee and Curiosities has opened in South of the 6 Salon (155 Dow St., No. 102, Manchester, 782-7198, southofthe6.com). Described on the South of the 6 website as having a “spooky-vintage-bookstore vibe,” it serves coffees, teas, smoothies and baked-in-house pastries. Open Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• Food donations and beer: To Share Brewing (720 Union St., Manchester, 836-6947, tosharebrewing.com) will host a food drive to benefit the New Hampshire Food Bank (nhfoodbank.org) Saturday, Feb. 22, beginning at 5 p.m. Bring a donation and get a chance to spin To Share’s Prize Wheel for a chance to win awesome prizes.

• Worldly wines: Wine on Main (9 N. Main St., Concord, 897-5828, wineonmainnh.com) will host a free wine tasting with Tom from Pearl Lake on Saturday, Feb. 22, between 1 and 4 p.m. Taste four wines from around the world. The store is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. as well.

• Irish and delicious: Peddler’s Daughter (48 Main St., Nashua, 821-7535, thepeddlersdaughter.com) will host its Annual Guinness Dinner Wednesday, Feb. 26, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. There will be four beers, four courses and endless fun conducted by “Cicerone” Michael Reardon, New England Guinness Ambassador, with special guest speaker Malcolm Patterson from Diageo Guinness USA. Tickets are $65 each through eventbrite.com.

• Tea in history: Register now for a special tea lecture. The Cozy Tea Cart (104A Route 13, Brookline, 249-9111, thecozyteacart.com) will host a discussion on “The Social Impact of Tea in Our History,” beginning with the discovery of tea and the spread of tea throughout Europe, the tea trade with China and the Opium Wars, its impact on the U.S., and the First World War. Throughout the presentation, enjoy sipping teas from the major tea-producing countries. The lecture will take place Thursday, March 20, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., but registration is required at least two weeks in advance. Tickets are $30 per person through the Cozy Tea Cart website.

Kiddie Pool 25/02/27

Family fun for whenever

Dine with fairy tales

• The Derryfield Country Club (625 Mammoth Road, Manchester, 669-0235, thederryfield.com) will host a Royal Princess Breakfast on Saturday, March 1, from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Take photos with costumed princes and enjoy singing, dancing, games and stories. Tickets are $40 for children and $55 for adults through eventbrite.com. VIP tickets cost $65 and include 9 a.m. entry and a tiara, the website said.

• Join the Nashua Historical Society (5 Abbott St., Nashua, 883-0015, nashuahistoricalsociety.org) for afternoon tea at a Little Red Tea Party, Sunday, March 2, at 1 p.m., inspired by the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood. This event will feature tea, scones, petite sandwiches and sweet treats served amidst a magical forest of trees. The event is for all ages and will feature a variety of activities, including a historical presentation based on the story of Little Red Riding Hood, a STEM-inspired tea experiment, a mini paper basket craft activity, a special raffle and more. Tickets are $18 for Historical Society members, $20 for non-members, and $15 for children 12 and younger. Visit the Historical Society website.

Play time

• Cowabunga’s (725 Huse Road in Manchester; cowabungas.com) will have three gyms open for play during February vacation (through Friday, Feb. 28). The indoor bouncy park will be open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. On Friday, Feb. 28, from 5 to 8 p.m., it’s Friday Night Fun with a costumed character, games and more. The cost is $20 per child (infants and adults free with paying child) the website said.

• Krazy Kids (60 Sheep Davis Road in Pembroke; krazykids.com) is open daily during vacation from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. On Friday, Feb. 28, it’s “Let’s Glow Krazy!” from 6 to 9 p.m. with music and UV black disco lights. Tickets cost $20 for kids, $5 for adults (no slip grip socks, which are required, cost $4 per pair).

See a show

• The kids of the Palace Youth Theatre Vacation Camp will present Winnie the Pooh Kids on Saturday, March 1, at 11 a.m. at the Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org). The show will feature kids in grades 2 to 12. Tickets cost $16 to $19.

• The Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia will present staged productions of Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny Stockbridge Theatre (22-98 Bypass 28, Derry, 437-5210, pinkertonacademy.org/stockbridge-theatre) Wednesday, March 5, at 10 a.m. Tickets start at $10.

• Or catch The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System at the Capitol Center for the Arts (44 S. Main St. in Concord; ccanh.com) on Wednesday, March 5, at 10:30 a.m. Tickets cost $8.

• Catch 1994’s Little Giants (PG), the family movie night screening at Flying Monkey (39 S. Main St. in Plymouth; flyingmonkeynh.com) on Wednesday, March 5, at 6 p.m. Tickets start at $3 and there will be a special menu available.

Fun & games

• Chunky’s Cinema Pub (707 Huse Road in Manchester; chunkys.com) has several family-friendly events this weekend. Chunky’s will hold a family paint party on Friday, Feb. 28, at 1 p.m. in the Chunky’s lobby. Tickets cost $45 per person and the menu will be available to order from during the event.

On Friday at 4:30 p.m., ventriloquist John Pizzi will present a family-friendly show of comedy, magic and ventriloquism. Tickets cost $25. (Pizzi will also have a 21+ show that night at 8 p.m.)

Also on Friday at 6:45 p.m., it’s Family Friendly Theatre Candy Bingo. Tickets cost $10 (and come with a $5 food voucher) and get you one bingo card for several rounds of play.

On Saturday, March 1, at 6 p.m., it’s a family trivia night about Pixar movies. The cost is $6 per person.

Treasure Hunt 25/02/27

Hello, Donna,

My question is, does anyone have a use for these old keys? My wife said I should ask before I throw them away.

Van

Dear Van,

I’m not saying this without a chuckle. Your wife is right! Antique keys can be very useful and even collectible.

My suggestion to you would be to bring them to an antique shop. The value of a lot like yours won’t make you rich. But they can be so helpful to people who have antiques, for unlocking furniture pieces, boxes, etc. — besides having a decorative and crafters market as well.

When I had my shop we always had a key box under the counter. Often we were asked to see if we might have one to help open something. We would lend them out and many times came back successful.

So, Van, sometimes the value on them can be priceless to someone who needs one. A value to you should be in the range of $10 to $15 for the lot.

Thanks for checking with us first!

Latitude adjustment

Easygoing Escape to Margaritaville hits Palace

By Michael Witthaus

[email protected]

New England spent most of February waking up to single-digit temperatures and the sound of snowplows in the street, so the latest musical at the Palace Theatre couldn’t arrive at a better time. Set in a sunny resort somewhere near the equator, Escape to Margaritaville is a frothy, guilty pleasure that’s packed with Jimmy Buffet songs.

With a book from a pair of sitcom veterans, the jukebox musical’s mood is best summed up by Tully (Matt McCloskey), who sings at the hotel bar and is modeled after the writer of “Changes in Latitudes” and the show’s title song. “The deeper you go,” Tully says, “the less interesting it gets.”

To paraphrase the Bard of the Keys, this evening comes with a license to chill.

The plot centers on a bachelorette getaway. Tammy (Megan Quinn) is finding some respite from her boorish fiance ahead of her wedding. Rachel (Jen Fogarty-Morgan) cares more about getting a soil sample from an island volcano for an energy venture that apparently involves potatoes, but falls quickly in a fling with the one-week-stand specialist Tully.

While that’s happening, Tammy is warming to the polar opposite of her husband-to-be, a genial bartender named Brick (Adam Fields). With those parts in place, and a few colorful denizens like hotel owner Marley (Nakiiya Coleman), old-timer J.D. (Jacob Medich) and handyman Jamal (Tyler Price Robinson), the Parrothead-pleasing songfest moves forward.

Though Escape to Margaritaville is aimed at the people who instinctively know the last two words in the chorus of “Why Don’t We Get Drunk,” it’s also fun for folks who are new to Buffett’s brand of trop rock. In fact, the Palace company had little awareness of him before rehearsals, one of which was canceled due to a foot of snow falling.

That would change.

“Now I get it; I’m kind of a converted Parrothead,” Director Carl Rajotte said by phone recently. “We’re having a blast teaching this show. There’s a lot of stylized dancing, a Caribbean feel, and then just all the puns. The show is written for people who enjoy puns, and all of the actors are laughing during rehearsal.”

In a joint interview, Fogarty-Morgan and Quinn discussed the cast’s mood as a Feb. 28 opening night approached.

“It’s a really nice, easy story,” Fogarty-Morgan said. “It’s fun, it’s goofy and silly. The music is amazing and wonderful and you get to hear it in a new way, which will be fun for the fans. They put together a phenomenal cast, and everyone’s really going to have a good time.”

Quinn, a Palace favorite who also runs their Youth Theatre Company, is pleased to see many fresh faces in Margaritaville. “Besides Jen and one other person, I have not worked with any of these people before,” she said. “They are all so good, so talented and very funny. We’ve been having such a good time with them, so that’s been a nice experience.”

Early on, both Quinn and Rajotte were certain “for an embarrassingly long time” that Rupert Holmes’ “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)” was a Buffett tune, but they since have come far. Everyone has a favorite now — “Cheeseburger in Paradise” is Quinn’s go-to, and Fogarty-Morgan is a fan of “Five O’clock Somewhere,” which began as an Alan Jackson tune with a guest vocal before Buffett took sole ownership by making it a staple at his concerts.

Rajotte selected the new work with an eye on the schedule, and the Palace will keep the tropical vibe alive by handing out leis to audience members. No word yet on whether blenders will be whirring with the show’s signature drink, though. The show is a great way to clear thoughts of frigid temperatures and seasonal stress, if only for a couple of hours.

“We always strive to do at least two brand new shows per season,” he said. “It’s the perfect time to do it, with the cold and snow … I keep on falling on the ice, but then I get to come in here and have a good time with this music and this show, and I know the audience will, too.”

Escape to Margaritaville

When: Fridays, 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays, 2
& 7:30 p.m., and Sundays, 2 p.m. through
March 23. Also Thursday, March 20, 7:30
p.m.
Where: Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St.,
Manchester
Tickets: $39 and up at palacetheatre.org

Featured photo: The cast of Escape to Margaritaville. Courtesy photo.

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